1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a marine vessel propulsion control device that controls a propulsion device attached to a marine vessel, and a marine vessel propulsion apparatus including a propulsion device and an operation device attached to a marine vessel. The present invention further relates to a marine vessel including a hull and a propulsion device and an operation device attached to the hull.
2. Description of the Related Art
Propulsion devices for marine vessels are attached to hulls to provide thrust forces to the hulls. Examples of the propulsion devices include outboard motors and bow thrusters. A plurality of propulsion devices are sometimes mounted on a hull. For example, in some cases, a plurality of outboard motors are mounted on a hull. Moreover, in some other cases, a bow thruster is mounted in addition to a single or a plurality of outboard motors. Depending on the number and type of propulsion devices mounted on a hull, the type of available hull behavior varies. The hull behavior means the hull's behavior related to a movement and rotation of the hull.
A marine vessel operator achieves a desired hull behavior by causing the propulsion device to operate appropriately. More specifically, operation devices for marine vessel maneuvering are provided on a marine vessel. Examples of the operation devices include steering wheels, levers, joysticks, and switches. As a result of the propulsion device operating according to operations of these operation devices, the moving direction, moving speed, rotating direction, and rotating speed of the hull can be controlled.
For example, when a plurality of propulsion devices are provided, the hull can be caused to move in the lateral direction by appropriately adjusting their operation. There is not always one combination of operations of the plurality of propulsion devices in this case, but generally, a plurality of combinations are available. With a larger number of propulsion devices attached to the hull, the number of combinations of operations of the propulsion devices for achieving one hull behavior increases accordingly.
US 2009/0076671 A1 discloses an arrangement of estimating a traveling plan based on a combination of the operational states of operation devices and the traveling state, and automatically selecting a marine vessel maneuvering device to obtain a target controlling force corresponding to the traveling plan. Accordingly, the selection of a marine vessel maneuvering device and the driving state can be optimized, and a desired traveling state can be achieved irrespective of the marine vessel operator's knowledge and experience.
US 2011/0166724 A1 discloses an arrangement in which the output and steering angle of an outboard motor are automatically controlled according to an operation of a joystick unit. More specifically, an operation pattern of the outboard motor is automatically selected according to an operation of the joystick unit and a current steering angle of the outboard motor. Accordingly, the steering operation of the outboard motor is minimized, while a hull behavior according to an operation of the joystick unit is achieved.